It is well known in the prior art to ground various electrical devices installed in a building to the various building columns, grids or beams which are used structurally to form and support the building. One such grounding system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,623,089 to Greene et al in which a clip or bracket is welded directly to a girder upright or other metal element of the framework of the building to form an integral and permanent part of the building framework utilized as a grounding system.
A second manner of connecting a ground wire to a building structure, such as an I-beam, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,621 issued to Auclair. This patent illustrates a wire connector which functions as a ground clamp for clamping a ground wire to an I-beam or like member. The connector comprises a clamp having a pair of cooperative jaws which clamp directly onto the I-beam structure. It is noted that this clamp must remain in place to positively connect the grounding system. A similar type of structure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,232,393 issued to Attwood, which shows a beam clamp designed to be attached to the flanges of steel I-beams and to other beams and structural elements of a metal framing construction. Although this clamp is not used in a grounding system, it is important to note that this clamp would remain semi-permanently in place.
Yet another means of connecting a grounding or short circuiting system to a structural element is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 1,377,439 issued to Rice. This patent discloses an appliance for short circuiting a pair of rails comprising V-shaped conductors having a pair of jaws and a pair of arms. One of the arms is adapted to bear against the underside of a rail, while the second arm is adapted to bear over the upper surface of the same rail. This arm is provided with a screw-threaded hole and a set screw or screw-threaded stud.
However, none of the prior art references describes a device in which a grounding connector is connected to a structural member, such as an I-beam, without the use of a permanently installed clamp.